Post-planarization clean-up

ABSTRACT

Cleaning solutions and methods for removing residuals from the surface of an integrated circuit device. Such solutions and methods find particular application in the fabrication of a dual damascene structure following removal of excess portions of a silver-containing metal layer from a device surface. The cleaning solutions and methods facilitate removal of particulate residuals as well as unremoved portions of the metal layer in a single cleaning process. The cleaning solutions are dilute aqueous solutions containing hydrogen peroxide and at least one acidic component and are substantially free of particulate material. Acidic components include carboxylic acids and their salts.

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to cleaning surface layers inintegrated circuit fabrication, and in particular to the development ofcleaning solutions and methods for the removal of abrasive particles andother residuals from integrated circuit surface layers.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Chemical-mechanical planarization (“CMP”) processes are frequently usedto planarize the surface layers of a wafer or other substrate in theproduction of ultra-high density integrated circuits. In typical CMPprocesses, a wafer is pressed against a slurry on a polishing pad undercontrolled conditions. Slurry solutions generally contain small,abrasive particles that mechanically remove the surface layer of thewafer. Slurry solutions may further contain chemicals that assist theremoval process. The polishing pad is generally a planar pad made from arelatively soft, porous material, such as blown polyurethane. The waferis abraded by the abrasive particles, thereby leveling or planarizingthe surface of the wafer. After the wafer is planarized, it is cleanedto remove residual particles on the surface of the wafer that wereintroduced to the CMP process by the slurry, the polishing pad or thewafer itself. As an alternative to slurry solutions, the abrasiveparticles may be carried by the pad itself.

CMP processing is particularly useful for planarizing a metallic surfacelayer used to form conductive features, such as interlayer connectorsand/or conducting lines. As an example, these interconnects are oftenformed by a method known as a dual damascene technique. Using the dualdamascene technique, contact vias and conductor trenches are patternedinto an insulating layer of a semiconductor wafer and a layer of metalis formed over this structure. This blanket layer of metal fills thevias and trenches and covers the upper surface of the wafer. Excessmetal formed on the upper surface of the wafer is then removed by CMP toa level at or below the surface of the insulating layer.

After the excess metal is removed, residual materials from the slurry,polishing pad or wafer remain on the planarized surface of the wafer.The residual materials commonly include particles attracted to thesurface of the wafer, such as by electrostatic or mechanical forces, aswell as material bonded to the surface of the wafer. Residual materialsattracted to the surface of the wafer may include abrasive particlesfrom the slurry and particles of the metal layer removed from thesurface of the wafer. Residual materials bonded to the surface of thewafer may include any remaining excess metal not removed during theplanarization. To reduce defects in the finished integrated circuitdevice, it is generally necessary to clean such residual materials fromthe planarized surface of the wafer prior to further processing.

A common post-CMP cleaning approach is to use a slurry dispersant tofirst remove the materials attracted to the surface of the wafer. Slurrydispersants may include deionized (DI) water to simply flush suchresiduals from the surface of the wafer. Mechanical action, such asbrush scrubbing or megasonics, may assist the removal of these attractedresiduals. The slurry dispersant may also include materials to complexor otherwise bind such residuals to aid in their removal.

After removal of the materials attracted to the surface of the wafer,the wafer is often etched to remove the material bonded to the surfaceof the wafer. Such residuals generally are unaffected by slurrydispersants. As these residuals are typically remaining patches of theconductor material, their removal is also important to proper deviceperformance.

In these two-step approaches, the appropriate slurry dispersants andetchants are highly dependent upon their respective target residualmaterials. Often, the slurry dispersants and etchants may beincompatible with each other, thus requiring a cleaning step to removetraces of the slurry dispersant before etching the bonded residuals.Each processing step creates added cost and the opportunity forintroducing additional defects into the integrated circuit device.

In the competitive semiconductor industry, it is desirable to maximizethe yield of finished wafers. The uniformity of the planarized surfaceand maximization of yield is, in part, a function of the effectivenessand repeatability of the solutions and processes used for the removal ofresiduals following CMP. While a wide variety of dispersant and etchantsolutions are available, these solutions are generally specific to thecomposition of the material to be removed. One must also avoid damagingthe surrounding materials.

As device sizes continue to decrease, designers must turn tohigher-conductivity materials for use in interconnect lines and contactsto replace aluminum and its alloys. Some of these higher-conductivitymaterials include silver and its alloys.

For the reasons stated above, and for other reasons stated below thatwill become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading andunderstanding the present specification, there is a need in the art foralternative solutions and methods for removing planarization residualsin the fabrication of integrated circuit devices, particularly followingmechanical removal of a silver-containing layer.

SUMMARY

Cleaning solutions and methods for removing residuals from the surfaceof an integrated circuit device are described herein. Such solutions andmethods find particular application in the fabrication of a dualdamascene structure following removal of excess portions of asilver-containing metal layer from a device surface. The cleaningsolutions and methods facilitate removal of particulate residuals aswell as unremoved portions of the metal layer in a single cleaningprocess. The cleaning solutions are dilute aqueous solutions containinghydrogen peroxide and at least one acidic component and aresubstantially free of particulate material. Acidic components includecarboxylic acids and their salts.

For one embodiment, the invention provides a method of removingresiduals from a surface of an integrated circuit device followingmechanical removal of a metal layer. The method includes contacting thesurface of the integrated circuit device with a clean aqueous solutioncontaining hydrogen peroxide and at least one acidic component selectedfrom the group consisting of carboxylic acids and their salts. For afurther embodiment, the carboxylic acids are hydroxy acids.

For another embodiment, the invention provides a method of removingresiduals from a surface of an integrated circuit device followingmechanical removal of a silver-containing metal layer. The methodincludes contacting the surface of the integrated circuit device with anacidic aqueous solution consisting essentially of hydrogen peroxide,water and at least one acidic component. Each acidic component is eithera carboxylic acid or a salt of a carboxylic acid. For a furtherembodiment, the carboxylic acids are hydroxy acids.

For yet another embodiment, the invention provides a method of removingresiduals from a surface of an integrated circuit device followingmechanical removal of a silver-containing metal layer. The methodincludes contacting the surface of the integrated circuit device with asolution consisting essentially of hydrogen peroxide, water and anammonium salt of a hydroxy acid. For a further embodiment, the ammoniumsalt of a hydroxy acid,is an ammonium salt of citric acid.

For one embodiment, the invention provides a method of fabricating anintegrated circuit device. The method includes forming a metal layer ona patterned insulating layer, mechanically removing a portion of themetal layer from the surface of the patterned insulating layer, andcontacting the surface of the patterned insulating layer with a cleansolution, thereby removing at least a portion of any residuals from thesurface of the patterned insulating layer. The solution containshydrogen peroxide, an aqueous solvent and at least one acidic componentselected from the group consisting of carboxylic acids and their salts.

For another embodiment, the invention provides a post-planarizationcleaning solution. The cleaning solution contains hydrogen peroxide, anaqueous solvent and at least one acidic component selected from thegroup consisting of carboxylic acids and their salts. For a furtherembodiment, the salts of the carboxylic acids are ammonium salts of thecarboxylic acids. For a still further embodiment, each acidic componentis either acetic acid, citric acid, lactic acid, malic acid, an acetate,a citrate, a lactate or a malate.

Further embodiments of the invention include solutions and methods ofvarying scope.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1A-1E are cross-sectional views of a portion of an integratedcircuit device at various stages of fabrication in accordance with anembodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following detailed description of the present embodiments,reference is made to the accompanying drawings that form a part hereof,and in which is shown by way of illustration specific embodiments inwhich the invention may be practiced. These embodiments are described insufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice theinvention, and it is to be understood that other embodiments may beutilized and that process, electrical or mechanical changes may be madewithout departing from the scope of the present invention. The termswafer or substrate used in the following description include any basesemiconductor structure. Examples include silicon-on-sapphire (SOS)technology, silicon-on-insulator (SOI) technology, thin film transistor(TFT) technology, doped and undoped semiconductors, epitaxial layers ofa silicon supported by a base semiconductor structure, as well as othersemiconductor structures well known to one skilled in the art.Furthermore, when reference is made to a wafer or substrate in thefollowing description, previous process steps may have been utilized toform regions/junctions in the base semiconductor structure, and theterms wafer and substrate include the underlying layers containing suchregions/junctions. The following detailed description is, therefore, notto be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of the present inventionis defined only by the appended claims and equivalents thereof.

FIGS. 1A-1E are cross-sectional views of a portion of an integratedcircuit device 100 at various stages of fabrication. In FIG. 1A, aninsulating layer 110 is formed on a substrate 105. Substrate 105 may bea silicon substrate, such as a p-type monocrystalline silicon substrate.Insulating layer 110 generally contains an insulator or dielectricmaterial, such as a silicon oxide (SiO/SiO₂), silicon nitride(SiN/Si₂N/Si₃N₄) or silicon oxynitride (SiO_(x)N_(y)) material. For oneembodiment, the dielectric layer 110 contains a doped silicon oxidematerial, such as borophosphosilicate glass (BPSG), a boron- andphosphorous-doped silicon dioxide material. For another embodiment, thedielectric layer 10 contains a germanium selenide material (GeSe/GeSe₂).Additional embodiments can include other dielectric glass and glass-likematerials.

In FIG. 1B, the insulating layer 110 is patterned to define aperturessuch as trenches 112 and vias 114. Patterning of the insulating layer110 may include conventional photolithographic techniques to maskportions of the insulating layer 110 and to expose portions of theinsulating layer 110 where future trenches 112 and vias 114 are to beformed. The exposed portions of the insulating layer 110 are thenremoved. The portions of the insulating layer 110 may be removed byetching or other suitable removal technique known in the art. Removaltechniques are generally dependent upon the material of construction ofthe layer to be removed as well as the surrounding or underlying layersto be retained.

Due to the nature of the dual damascene process, the depth of the etchis variable across the surface of the substrate, e.g., the etch depth isgreater where vias 114 are defined and less where only trenches 112 aredefined. Thus, two mask and etch steps can be utilized in a conventionalphotolithographic process to define the vias 114 separately from thetrenches 112. Alternatively, a gray mask pattern can be utilized todefine the vias 114 and trenches 112 simultaneously in onephotolithographic mask and etch step. The trenches 112 will forminterconnect lines for the integrated circuit device while the vias 114will form contacts to active areas of the integrated circuit.

Following patterning of the insulating layer 110, a silver-containingmetal layer 115 is formed overlying the substrate 105, filling thetrenches 112 and vias 114 as shown in FIG. 1C. The metal layer 115 isgenerally formed as a blanket deposition in dual damascene techniques.This fills the trenches 112 and vias 114 by covering the entire surfaceof the insulating layer 110 with the metal layer 115. The metal layer115 may be formed using chemical vapor deposition (CVD) or physicalvapor deposition (PVD) techniques. Additionally, the metal layer 115 maybe formed using electroplating techniques, such as forming a seed layer(not shown) overlying the insulating layer 110 and the exposed portionsof the substrate 105 following by electroplating the remaining portionof the metal layer 115 onto the seed layer. Electroless plating isanother example of a process that may be used to form the metal layer115 covering the surface of the integrated circuit device 100. For oneembodiment, the metal layer 115 is a silver alloy. For a furtherembodiment, the metal layer 115 is elemental silver (Ag).

As the dual damascene approach uses a contiguous metal layer 115 to fillthe trenches 112 and vias 114, excess portions of the metal layer 115must be removed from the surface of the insulating layer 110. Removal ofthe excess portions of the metal layer 115 generally involves somemechanical action, such as chemical-mechanical planarization (CMP). CMPis sometimes also referred to as chemical-mechanical polishing. As notedearlier, the process generally involves mechanical abrasion in thepresence of a solution. The solution may carry abrasive particles or theabrasive particles may be supported by or suspended in an abrasivemedium, such as an abrasive pad or belt. A commonly-used abrasiveparticle is aluminum oxide (alumina). Additional abrasive particlesinclude silicon dioxide (silica), silicon carbide and cerium oxide(ceria). Other abrasive particles are known in the art. The solution mayalso carry solvents, oxidizers, reducers or etchants to chemicallyassist in the removal process, or it may simply be a carrier medium suchas deionized (DI) water.

Following removal of the excess portions of the metal layer 115, thesurface of the integrated circuit device 100 is cleaned to removeabrasive particles and other residuals resulting from mechanical removaltechniques. These residuals can include residual particles 130 attractedto the surface of the integrated circuit device 100 as well as unremovedexcess portions 135 of the metal layer 115 bonded to the surface of theintegrated circuit device 100 as shown in FIG. 1D. The term residualswill hereinafter refer to all removal residue, whether it be unremovedportions 135 of the metal layer 115, or residual particles 130,including abrasive particles introduced by the removal process itselfand particles of the removed surface material. Removal of the excessportions of the metal layer 115 defines interconnect lines 120 andcontacts 125.

Removal of the excess portions of the metal layer 115 by mechanicalaction, whether chemically assisted or not, will result.in residuals onthe surface that cannot easily be removed by a simple rinse, such as aDI water rinse. For the various embodiments, the residuals aresubstantially removed using a single post-CMP cleaning process to removeboth attracted and bonded residuals. It is recognized that in thereality of industrial processing, some residuals will likely remain,regardless of the efficacy of the cleaning process. The variousembodiments employ a “clean” solution for removing residuals. Thecleaning solution is termed “clean” as it is substantially devoid ofparticulate material unlike an abrasive slurry that might be used in themechanical removal process.

Residuals are removed from the surface of the integrated circuit device100 by contacting the surface with a cleaning solution in accordancewith the embodiments of the invention. Any method known in the art forusing a liquid composition to assist in or otherwise facilitate removalof residuals may be used.

As one example, an integrated circuit device having residuals may beplaced into a bath of the cleaning solution. The residuals will becomesuspended, dispersed and/or dissolved in the solution and the devicesurface will become relatively free of the residuals. Elevatedtemperature may be employed to hasten residual removal, althoughelevated temperature may also result in increased removal rates ofnon-residual materials, e.g., the dielectric layer 110, the interconnectlines 120 and the contacts 125.

It is preferred that some mechanical action take place while thesolution contacts the residual-containing device surface. Mechanicalaction facilitates improved removal of residuals from the devicesurface. For example, the bath of the cleaning solution may becirculated to produce movement of the solution across the surface of thedevice. Alternatively, or in addition, the bath may be an ultrasonic ormegasonic bath (depending on the frequency of vibration). As anotherexample, the solution may be sprayed onto the device surface, where thespray pressure assists in removing residuals from the device surface. Asa further example, the device surface may be scrubbed, for example, by abrush in combination with the solution. Upon cleaning the surface of theintegrated circuit device 100 with a solution in accordance with thevarious embodiments, the device may appear as shown in FIG. 1E with thesurface substantially free of residuals such as residual particles 130and unremoved portions 135. The interconnect lines 120 and the contacts125 may be slightly recessed; the cleaning solution attacks theunremoved portions 135 on the surface of the integrated circuit device100 and thus will also remove exposed portions of the interconnect lines120 and contacts 125 if their composition is substantially the same.

The cleaning solution is an aqueous solution containing hydrogenperoxide (H₂O₂) and at least one acidic component. Each acidic componentmay be either a carboxylic acid or a salt of a carboxylic acid. Someexamples of carboxylic acids include acetic acid (CH₃COOH), citric acid(HOOCCH₂C(OH)(COOH)CH₂COOH·H₂O), lactic acid (CH₃CH₂OCOOH) and malicacid (HOOCCH₂CH(OH)COOH). To further the example, salts of thesecarboxylic acids include acetates, citrates, lactates and malates.Hydroxy acids and their salts are one preferred type of acidic componentshowing properties of both an alcohol and an acid. Hydroxy acids are asub-class of carboxylic acids containing both a hydroxyl group (theunivalent group —OH) and a carboxyl group (the univalent group —COOH).

For a further embodiment, the salt of a carboxylic acid is chosen to bean ammonium salt of a carboxylic acid. Ammonium salts of carboxylicacids are especially beneficial as they form self-buffered aqueoussolutions. Examples of ammonium salts of carboxylic acids includeammonium acetate (NH₄C₂H₃O₂), dibasic ammonium citrate ((NH₄)₂HC₆H₅O₇),ammonium lactate (NH₄C₃H₅O₃) and ammonium malate (NH₄C₄H₅O₅).

The cleaning solution should preferably be acidic, i.e., having a pH ofless than 7. Acidic solutions will avoid excessive etching of silicon-or germanium-containing dielectric materials. For one embodiment, thecleaning solution contains approximately 0.01 to 1.0 wt % acidiccomponents and 1 to 5 wt % of hydrogen peroxide in an aqueous solvent.The solvent may consist essentially of water. As is typical inintegrated circuit fabrication, the solvent should be free ofcontaminants that could impart defects into the fabrication process.Accordingly, the solvent may consist essentially of deionized (DI) wateror water that has been purified to remove suspended and dissolvedcontaminants. Purification of the water may include distilling the wateror filtering the water and passing it through one or more ion exchangebeds or columns. Alternatively, the solvent may contain water and one ormore water-soluble organic solvents, e.g., alcohols or glycols. Thecleaning solution may contain additional chemical components that do notmaterially affect the basic and novel properties of the solutionsdisclosed herein. Some examples include dyes, lubricants, stabilizers,buffers, surfactants, thickening agents, preservatives and antimicrobialagents.

For another embodiment, the cleaning solution contains approximately0.05 to 0.2 wt % acidic components, such as dibasic ammonium citrate,and approximately 1 to 3 wt % of hydrogen peroxide in aqueous solution.For a further embodiment, the cleaning solution contains approximately0.1 wt % acidic components and approximately 2 wt % of hydrogen peroxideinaqueous solution. Such solutions have been shown to be especiallyeffective at removing residuals, both particulate and unremovedportions, resulting from planarization of excess silver from a glasssurface using alumina abrasives. In particular, such cleaning solutionscomplex alumina to assist in removal of alumina particles anddemonstrate a controlled etch of silver, providing desirableundercutting of the surface of the interconnect lines and contacts.

The various embodiments facilitate removal of particulate residuals andunremoved portions of a silver-containing metal layer using a singlecleaning process. Such processing eliminates the need for a two-stepapproach of dispersing the particulate residuals in a first step andetching the unremoved metal on the device surface in a second step.

CONCLUSION

Cleaning solutions and methods for removing residuals from the surfaceof an integrated circuit device have been described. Such solutions andmethods find particular application in the fabrication of a dualdamascene structure following removal of excess portions of asilver-containing metal layer from a device surface. The cleaningsolutions and methods facilitate removal of particulate residuals aswell as unremoved portions of the metal layer in a single cleaningprocess. The cleaning solutions are dilute aqueous solutions containinghydrogen peroxide and at least one acidic component and aresubstantially free of particulate material. Acidic components includecarboxylic acids and their salts.

Although specific embodiments have been illustrated and describedherein, it will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the artthat any arrangement that is calculated to achieve the same purpose maybe substituted for the specific embodiments shown. Many adaptations ofthe invention will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art.For example, other deposition techniques and mechanical removaltechniques may be utilized with the invention. Accordingly, thisapplication is intended to cover any adaptations or variations of theinvention. It is manifestly intended that this invention be limited onlyby the following claims and equivalents thereof.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of removing residuals from a surface ofan integrated circuit device following mechanical removal of a metallayer, the method comprising: contacting the surface of the integratedcircuit device with a clean aqueous solution containing hydrogenperoxide and at least one acidic component selected from the groupconsisting of carboxylic acids and salts of carboxylic acids to removeboth attracted and bonded residuals in a single cleaning process.
 2. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the metal layer contains silver in a formselected from the group consisting of a silver alloy and elementalsilver.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein an acidic component isselected from the group consisting of hydroxy acids and salts of hydroxyacids.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein each acidic component isselected from the group consisting of hydroxy acids and salts of hydroxyacids.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the each acidic component isselected from the group consisting of acetic acid, citric acid, lacticacid, malic acid, a salt of acetic acid, a salt of citric acid, a saltof lactic acid and a salt of malic acid.
 6. The method of claim 1,wherein the salts of carboxylic acids are ammonium salts of carboxylicacids.
 7. A method of removing residuals from a surface of an integratedcircuit device following mechanical removal of a silver-containing metallayer, the method comprising: contacting the surface of the integratedcircuit device with an aqueous solution containing hydrogen peroxide andat least one acidic component selected from the group consisting ofcarboxylic acids and salts of carboxylic acids until the surface issubstantially free of residuals; wherein the aqueous solution issubstantially devoid of particulate material.
 8. The method of claim 7,wherein the silver-containing metal layer contains a silver alloy. 9.The method of claim 7, wherein the silver-containing metal layerconsists essentially of silver.
 10. A method of removing residuals froma surface of an integrated circuit device following mechanical removalof a silver-containing metal layer, the method comprising: contactingthe surface of the integrated circuit device with an acidic aqueoussolution consisting essentially of hydrogen peroxide, water and at leastone acidic component; wherein each acidic component is selected from thegroup consisting of carboxylic acids and salts of carboxylic acids; andwherein the surface of the integrated circuit device is contacted withthe acidic aqueous solution until the surface is substantially free ofattracted and bonded residuals.
 11. A method of removing residuals froma surface of an integrated circuit device following mechanical removalof a silver-containing metal layer, the method comprising: contactingthe surface of the integrated circuit device with an acidic aqueoussolution consisting essentially of hydrogen peroxide, water and anacidic component to remove both attracted and bonded residuals using asingle cleaning process; wherein the acidic component is selected fromthe group consisting of a carboxylic acid and a salt of a carboxylicacid.
 12. A method of removing residuals from a surface of an integratedcircuit device following mechanical removal of a silver-containing metallayer, the method comprising: contacting the surface of the integratedcircuit device with a solution consisting essentially of hydrogenperoxide, an aqueous solvent and at least one acidic component to removeattracted and bonded residuals until the surface of the integratedcircuit device is substantially free of such residuals; wherein eachacidic component is selected from the group consisting of carboxylicacids and salts of carboxylic acids.
 13. The method of claim 12, whereinthe solution contains approximately 0.01 to 1.0 wt % acidic componentsand approximately 1 to 5 wt % hydrogen peroxide.
 14. The method of claim12, wherein the solution contains approximately 0.05 to 0.2 wt % acidiccomponents and approximately 1 to 3 wt % hydrogen peroxide.
 15. Themethod of claim 12, wherein the solution contains approximately 0.1 wt %acidic components and approximately 2 wt % hydrogen peroxide.
 16. Themethod of claim 12, wherein the aqueous solvent consists essentially ofwater.
 17. The method of claim 16, wherein the water is deionized water.18. The method of claim 12, wherein the aqueous solvent contains waterand at least one water-soluble organic solvent.
 19. The method of claim18, wherein each at least one water-soluble organic solvent is selectedfrom the group consisting of alcohols and glycols.
 20. The method ofclaim 12, wherein each acidic component is selected from the groupconsisting of hydroxy acids and salts of hydroxy acids.
 21. The methodof claim 12, wherein the solution has a pH of less than
 7. 22. A methodof fabricating an integrated circuit device, comprising: forming a metallayer on a patterned insulating layer, wherein the metal layer covers atleast a portion of a surface of the patterned insulating layer;mechanically removing a portion of the metal layer from the surface ofthe patterned insulating layer, thereby forming residuals on the surfaceof the patterned insulating layer; and contacting the surface of thepatterned insulating layer with a clean solution to remove residualsfrom the surface of the patterned insulating layer until the surface issubstantially free of such residuals; wherein the solution containshydrogen peroxide, an aqueous solvent and at least one acidic componentselected from the group consisting of carboxylic acids and salts ofcarboxylic acids.
 23. The method of claim 22, wherein at least oneacidic component is selected from the group consisting of hydroxy acidsand salts of hydroxy acids.
 24. The method of claim 22, wherein each atleast one acidic component is selected from the group consisting ofhydroxy acids and salts of hydroxy acids.
 25. The method of claim 22,wherein each at least one acidic component is selected from the groupconsisting of acetic acid, citric acid, lactic acid, malic acid,ammonium acetate, dibasic ammonium citrate, ammonium lactate andammonium malate.
 26. The method of claim 22, wherein the metal layercontains silver in a form selected from the group consisting of a silveralloy and elemental silver.
 27. A method of fabricating an integratedcircuit device, comprising: forming a silver-containing metal layer on apatterned surface of the integrated circuit device; abrading the surfaceof the integrated circuit device with an alumina abrasive, whereinabrading the surface of the integrated circuit device leaves residualson the surface of the integrated circuit device; and cleaning theresiduals from the surface of the integrated circuit device until thesurface is substantially free of the residuals using an aqueous solutioncontaining hydrogen peroxide and an acidic component, wherein the acidiccomponent is selected from the group consisting of a carboxylic acid anda salt of a carboxylic acid.
 28. A method of fabricating an integratedcircuit device, comprising: forming a layer of silver on a patternedinsulating layer, wherein the patterned insulating layer has aperturesand wherein the layer of silver fills the apertures and covers a surfaceof the patterned insulating layer; mechanically removing a first portionof the layer of silver overlying the surface of the patterned insulatinglayer, wherein a remaining portion of the layer of silver remains in theapertures; and removing residuals formed during mechanically removingthe first portion of the layer of silver and removing a surface portionof the remaining portion of the layer of silver by contacting thesurface of the patterned insulating layer with an aqueous solutioncontaining hydrogen peroxide and at least one acidic component selectedfrom the group consisting of carboxylic acids and salts of carboxylicacids; wherein removing residuals occurs until the surface of thepatterned insulating layer is substantially free of the residuals; andwherein removing the surface portion of the remaining portion of thelayer of silver occurs until the surface of the patterned insulatinglayer is substantially free of the surface portion of the remainingportion of the layer of silver.
 29. The method of claim 28, wherein thesalts of carboxylic acids are ammonium salts of carboxylic acids. 30.The method of claim 28, wherein the salts of carboxylic acids areammonium salts of hydroxy acids.
 31. The method of claim 28, wherein theeach acidic component is selected from the group consisting of aceticacid, citric acid, lactic acid, malic acid, an acetate, a citrate, alactate and a malate.